Hi! I’m Patti! I’m a heart of the heartland woman, from birth on. I’ve raised two kids (my son in his late thirties and provided us with a granddaughter in April of 1996; and my daughter in her mid twenties and living in Arizona with her husband), several generations of Great Danes, and a fair amount of Cain in my younger days.
In the mid 80’s, I started preparing taxes in the evenings while maintaining a 9 to 5 routine during the day, not to mention serving the community as a humane investigator and helping to found the Kewanee Humane Society. In 1988, I was voted Woman of the Year by the Kewanee Business and Professional Women’s Organization. Caring for my daughter with cerebral palsy on top of my job and my growing tax business proved way too demanding, so in 1990 I started my own business, Resources Unlimited. When ’Mas joined my household a year and a half later, we began getting more involved in the online world, which led to the birth of PourHouse Productions in 1995. In the summer of that year, ’Mas and I were married.
I’m actively involved in our church and very passionate about my belief in God’s saving grace. Because of my strong organization skill, when people want things done, they seek me out and then get out of the way - can you say “Type-A”?
I have always been artistically inclined, so I took on the graphics responsibilities of the business. This presents many opportunities for my photography, which is one of my passions. I'm also responsible for the accounting duties and the majority of the customer contacts. So, I take the customer’s ideas, create the designs, build the graphics (including photography where needed), and then hand it all over to ’Mas to do his (boring) geek thing to complete the process. I have learned to hand code the pages, but I prefer to let ’Mas take care of that tedious chore. I am dedicated to the task of catching the vision of your business and translating that into an attractive, professionally made website.
Hey There! I’m Tom, though many know me as ’Mas (Patti won’t call me anything else). I was born and raised in California (yes, I’m an import - more about that shortly). Since my freshman year of high school, I have been involved in one capacity or another in the wonderful world of computers. When I started at this (during the dark ages of the late 60’s & early 70’s), computers had much less capability than today’s common laptops and filled large, climate controlled rooms.
Having done many other things as well during the decade from 1975 through 1985 (music, acting, directing, fight choreography, photography, etc.), I never strayed far from computers and finally purchased my first home computer in 1982. Four years later, while the data processing manager for a fortune 500 company, a colleague convinced me I could probably make it on my own. So I walked away from corporate politics and started my own computer consulting business.
In 1991, I met this interesting woman named Patti in an online service called Delphi. She and I became fast friends. One thing led to another and I found myself leaving Sonoma County, California (including my home in a forest, my reasonably successful business, and even my cat), and moving 2,100 miles to Kewanee, Illinois to be closer to this wonderful person that continues to knock my socks off!
As Patti mentioned, in 1995, we formed a business and marriage partnership, both of which have grown and matured in the years that followed. I was born again in 1996 and, with Patti by my side, have demonstrated my gifts as a teacher, lay counselor, and worship leader. Oh, and I've been told I give good prayer. [smile]
Yes, Patti’s right! I’m the geek of the business, handling the bulk of the coding, maintenance, and other technical details of making websites appear & function on the Internet. I also find time to assist people with a variety of computer needs. Where Patti is the heart and soul of PourHouse Productions, I guess I’m the hands and feet. I’m blessed with having my work also be one of my passions.